Tim Switzer, Leader-Post

After winning their last five games against the four lowest-ranked teams in Canada West, the Rams (5-1) visit the Manitoba Bisons (6-0) today in Winnipeg.

Manitoba is ranked third in the CIS and the Rams are No.7

This will be a test," said Rams defensive end Clark Gates. "Manitoba is one of the top teams in the country so how we stack up against them will show us where we really are."

Since losing to the Bisons in the opening week of the season, the Rams have won five straight with two wins over the Alberta Golden Bears and one over the Simon Fraser Clan, UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos. Regina has won those five games by an average margin of 17.2 points, but the four teams have combined for just seven wins this season.

"I don't think there is a bottom-four team in the conference -- all the teams are tough," said Rams head coach Frank McCrystal. "Simon Fraser, who is 0-6, is equally as tough as anybody as we've played all year long. If you get some injuries, you can drop a couple games and then all of a sudden your record makes you look far, far worse than the kind of football team you are."

There is no doubt, however, that the Bisons are the No. 1 team in the conference this season. The Bisons have not lost a regular-season game since Oct. 15, 2005. Manitoba beat Regina 36-13 to open the 2007 campaign.

In that game, Rams receivers dropped 11 passes as the offence tallied just 153 total yards. Since then, the Rams offence has improved considerably and now sits second in the conference behind the University of Saskatchewan Huskies with 449 yards per game.

"It won't be even close to the same game as last time," said quarterback Teale Orban, who is fourth in the CIS with 1,809 passing yards and is tied for the nationwide lead with 18 touchdowns this season. "We've improved everywhere. Our passing game is much better, our blocking is much better than it was and defensively we've been shutting teams down. Even the excitement and energy is different around the team than it was that first game."

Regina's defence, the fourth-ranked unit in Canada West, will have to contend with Manitoba's Regina-born quarterback John Makie and the dual running threat of Matt Henry and Karim Lowen, ranked third and fifth in the conference, respectively.

The Rams can give themselves a good chance of finishing first in Canada West if they can beat the Bisons by more than 23 points.

Even if they do win by that margin, the Rams will likely still have to win their final game of the season against the Huskies.

The Bisons close the season by visiting the winless Clan.

For now, the Rams are just looking to beat the Bisons by any margin.

"You play the game, you execute, you see how the score is going and if you get yourself into a position where that point spread is attainable, then you play with that," said McCrystal.

In the end, today's game could show whether the Rams are contenders or pretenders.

"I would hope our opponents have that impression, but that's entirely up to them," said McCrystal.

"If anyone thinks the Rams are ever pretenders, then they haven't been to a game or played in a game."


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